1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a finishing machine for tubular knit fabrics, and more particularly to a cylindrical ring type compactor and extractor.
2. Related Art
Compactors and extractors are used in the finishing of tubular knit fabrics. Extractors are used to squeeze or pad a sleeve of tubular knit fabric in order to express the liquid retained in the fabric as a result of other finishing processes (e.g. dying, washing). A compactor is used to tighten the knit in the fabric through a process of longitudinally compressing the sleeve of fabric.
Conventional compactors and extractors, as depicted in FIG. 1, use a pair of rollers 100, 102 which define a nip through which an endless sleeve of tubular knit fabric 104 is fed. As a result of the finishing process using these prior art devices, permanent creases 106, 108 are formed in the sleeve tubular fabric 104. The permanent creases 106, 108 limit how the finished fabric 104 can be used because the creases are permanent and cannot be removed from the finished product.
Several prior art devices have been developed using tubular mandrels, but these devices have essentially been limited to the processes of stretching or cutting a tubular knit fabric. None of these devices can be adapted to the extraction or compacting processes required in the finishing of tubular knit fabrics.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and method for performing extraction and compacting on tubular knit fabrics which does not create permanent edge creases in the finished product.